Wildlife Enforcement Officers/ Hurricane Katrina

[RT302]

I just watched the Fish and Wildlife Journal on the Outdoor Channel and it paid tribute to the various federal/ state wildlife enforcement agencies that participated in the rescue/ recovery efforts at Katrina last year. It brought back a lot of memories. Although not all agencies were specifically named, the show was representative of what went on in the first few days after the hurricane hit. My team actually tried to remain very low key from media coverage, etc, and just complete our daily missions. Not always the case as the media always seemed to find their way to our staging/ launching points, and actually tried to hitch rides in the boats. My answer was always a firm "no" to the media. The seat they would have sat in meant one less place to put a person in need. I know that the guys I was assigned with went home with a sense of pride, accomplishment and a feeling of actually helping people in need. Some of the other teams sent by my agency didn't fair as well and grew weary of the "thumb in the bum" concept real quick.

If anyone is interested, the show is being replayed on 12/02/2006 at 1900 hours EST on the Outdoor Channel.